I’ve been listening a lot.
I find Welsh accents and Cymraeg (Welsh) beautiful. Lucky for me, I landed a housesitting gig in Cardiff.
Cardiff charmed me, folks.
I stepped out of Cardiff Central Station to see this. I love seeing the Welsh language everywhere in the city.
It’s beautiful. It’s walkable. It’s LGBTQ-friendly. (Shout out to the lovely people at The Queer Emporium!)
The people I spoke to were so kind. Everyone was so happy to have me in their city and proud to make a good impression.
I’m a person who loves language. I love reading and writing. I love learning new languages (even if I never really get close to fluent because I’m too scared to practice with native speakers). I love being an English conversation tutor (yes, I believe much more in other people than myself. I’m working on it, ok?)
I also love when people reclaim their languages. The Welsh language was suppressed for hundreds of years, but the language is growing again. All over Cardiff and the rest of Wales you can find bilingual signs and hear Welsh being spoken.
Now, I don’t know any Welsh aside from croeso, Cymru and Cymraeg (welcome, Wales and Welsh, respectively), but I’ve learned a little (from TikTok surprisingly) about how their alphabet letters are pronounced. As I walked around the city or heard train announcements, I’d read along or say the words out loud to myself and enjoy the unique sounds of this beautiful ancient language.
Cardiff is very walkable with a series of arcades in the city centre which is mostly car-free much of the day. And many of the historic attractions are nearby as well. There are gorgeous parks and gardens. Did I mention the castle?
I tried to climb to the top of the Black Tower, but I got too nervous on the last flight of stairs.
There’s plenty more to the country outside of Cardiff and I really hope I get the chance to explore it some time in the future, but for now I’ll just say, “Go to Wales. You won’t regret it.”
Follow along if you like and remember — Even tiny adventures matter.